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Sofia sews to help others!

Sofia Amato, 15, of Vineland sews a mask in an effort to help her community during the COVID-19 situation. She has made and shared 51 masks so far.(Photo: Provided)

VINELAND - With school closed and having to make the adjustment to learn from home, losing the opportunity to gather with friends, and stressing from the continuous coverage of COVID-19, Sofia Amato, 15, of Vineland was getting frustrated.

But her family decided to look at the situation in a different way and to be a part of the solution. Donna Amato, Sofia’s mother, heard Joann Fabric and Craft Store was distributing, through contactless pickup, kits to make face masks. Plus, the family had a sewing machine that just needed to be dusted off. So they picked up a kit.

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Sofia started her effort by making 10 masks from the kit. Once the masks were completed, they returned them to the store to be distributed to people who needed them. When a family member heard about Sofia’s effort, she offered to share a box of fabric and arrangements were made to pick up the fabric from her porch. The Amatos purchased some elastic and Sofia was able to continue her effort.

She shared some masks with her uncle, a dialysis patient, who then shared some with the workers at his dialysis facility. She also made some for her mom and her coworkers plus other family members who are essential workers. When other people saw the masks, they made requests. Sofia is now making masks to share based on these requests.

So far Sofia has made and shared 51 masks in an effort to help her family and the community.